Books

“To tell you the truth, I kinda felt sorry for the kid. There was something in his eyes that stirred a memory inside me. For a moment, I was him, I was that boy hiding by the woodshed…”

An elderly man, living alone in the suburbs, thinks back on his life – the missed opportunities, the shocking betrayals, the rare moments of joy. When his ten-year-old neighbour hides in his garden one afternoon, they begin an unexpected friendship that offers a reprieve from their individual struggles. The boy, often left on his own by his mother, finds solace in gardening and playing chess with his new friend, who is still battling the demons of his past.

As a sinister figure enters the boy’s life, he must choose between a burgeoning friendship and blood ties. Can the old man protect the boy he has come to know – and redeem the boy he once was?

A poignant debut novel by a fresh Australian voice, The Promise Seed will move and mesmerise you.

“The boy … what does he hope for? Where does he dream? How high will he fly without someone to show him the way?”

The Promise Seed is the story of a burgeoning friendship between old man and boy, unfolding at an elegant pace as each finds something valuable and necessary in the presence of the other. The emotional stakes are high, and Moriarty allows room for both of these characters to become fully-fleshed, drawing the reader slowly into a world in which the threat of violence is ever present. [Despite this, The Promise Seed] maintains a sense of optimism.

Sophia Barnes

'Restless Fictions', Sydney Review of Books

There is a steady rising tension to this sometimes harrowing tale … there is also the seed of redemption and hope buried at its heart.

Hannah Richell

The Australian Women's Weekly

Through the gentle but raw introspections of the old man, and the uneasy, fearful life of the boy, the story moves with a sprinkling of humour and the chilling drama towards a gripping climax.

Judith Grace

Good Reading

The most impressive aspect of Moriarty’s novel is the relationship between the protagonists, which is expertly constructed and believable…The Promise Seed [is] to be highly recommended.

The Weekend Australian

This is a beautifully paced debut … It’s a thoughtful portrait of friendship, family and loneliness, and Moriarty’s finely drawn characters … bring levity and pathos to a sombre but moving story.

Books+Publishing

I loved it and thoroughly recommend it – it was very hard to put down. Definitely a must-read….

Annastacia Palaszczuk

Queensland Premier, Books of the Year 2016, The Australian Financial Review

This is a powerful story, simply told, that delivers an emotionally satisfying reading experience. Many readers may, like me, be moved to tears in the closing chapters.

Readings Monthly

Through the gentle but raw introspections of the old man, and the uneasy, fearful life of the boy, the story moves with a sprinkling of humour amid the chilling drama towards a gripping climax.

Good Reading

The Promise Seed is the story of a burgeoning friendship between old man and boy, unfolding at an elegant pace as each finds something valuable and necessary in the presence of the other.

Sydney Review of Books

Cass Moriarty has written an engaging and heart-wrenching book. It is well worth the read.

The Big Book Club

The Promise Seed is an incredibly poignant piece of fiction that has the reader absolutely gripped from beginning to end.

Lip Magazine

ISBN 978 0 7022 5953 1

Daniel Whittaker’s will has some unusual instructions: in order for his three children to collect their generous inheritance, they must hand-deliver letters addressed to strangers from their father’s past. Who are these people and what was their significance to Daniel?

For his eldest son, Richard, there are hidden motives for his impatience to settle the will. His sister Evonne is still hurting from decades of her parents’ disapproval. The youngest sibling, Kelly, believes she knew her father best.

As Daniel’s children carry out his last wishes, each of them must confront their entrenched ideas about their father, and reconsider their own lives. What they discover is beyond anything they imagined.

Released August 28, 2017

Cass Moriarty demonstrates her inventiveness through the letters … the novel deftly illustrates the emotion sometimes experienced after a death: the feeling that you knew that person most intimately and profoundly, yet mystery has intervened, and your understanding of that life seems curiously limited … even after a lifetime.